Turnovers prove costly for the Gamecocks against Auburn Saturday.By: Kelsie Weekes
Posted: September 27, 2010 12:30pm
The South Carolina Gamecocks suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Auburn Tigers Saturday night in a game full of turnovers.
The Gamecocks looked good in the first half, turning two Auburn fumbles into touchdowns. Quarterback Stephen Garcia connected with Alshon Jeffery for two touchdown passes and Marcus Lattimore rushed for another to give Carolina a 20-14 halftime lead.
But the tables were turned in the second half as Garcia fumbled twice. Auburn capitalized with one touchdown and head coach Steve Spurrier pulled Garcia in favor of freshman quarterback Connor Shaw.
Shaw was connecting well with Jeffery, scoring once. But South Carolina's final two drives of the game ended in interceptions. Those two turnovers secured Auburn's 35-27 victory.
"We had our chances to win the game and we should've won," Garcia said. "Turnovers in the second half just killed us."
Garcia ended the night with 235 yards and three touchdowns. Jeffery finished with 192 yards and two touchdowns, making Jeffery the leading receiver in the country.
"Alshon had a heck of a game," Spurrier said. "It was there to be won, but we weren't good enough to do it tonight."
The Gamecocks dropped from number 12 to 20 in the AP poll after the loss.
South Carolina has a bye week as they prepare to host number one Alabama on October 9th.
